Plasma Weapons
Summary Similar to particle beams, Plasma Weapons superheat materials to a plasma state before directing them towards a target. Usually fired in a stream, some versions have been set up to fire pulses or larger balls. The most common plasma weapons are Fusion Cannons; Starship fusion drives that have been modified for use as weaponry rather than just for propulsion. Info Plasma Weapon technology defines two separate types of directed energy weapons, both with terrific power but incredibly different modes of functioning. In general, they can be configured to fire tight concentrated beams, or to melt everything in a wide area. Republic Plasma Weapons Republic Plasma Weapons fire a concentrated stream of Iron plasma. This plasma is pre-heated at logistics bases, and the firing weapon only contains the required parts to accelerate and contain the beam. Fuel cells that accomodate the plasma contain stasis fields and a magnetic bottle system, and are only opened when the weapon is fired. Fusion Cannons : "A reaction drive's efficiency as a weapon is in direct proportion to its efficiency as a drive." -The Kzinti Lesson, Larry Niven Available to every Faction, Fusion cannons have existed as long at Fusion Drives have. Most simply use Helium or Deuterium plasma expelled from a Fusion reactor. While decidedly low tech they can be effective, and can double as backup engines if the ship is damaged. They're normally used when phase cannon weaponry is unavailable or too demanding to produce. Types Infantry Republic Plasma Pistol - An attempt to miniaturize earlier anti-tank guns into a more portable form. The earliest Republic built plasma pistols were quite bulky and far more expensive than could be afforded with small arms. Despite this the pistol proved to be very powerful. Development of these weapons was set back more than a decade by the destruction of their R&D labs in the civil war. By the early 4030's small number of these are beginning to appear fielded by special forces units. Plasma Anti-Tank Gun - One of the first man portable plasma weapons to pack enough punch to threaten vehicles, the Republic designed them as a smaller version of their starship grade weapons. Their fuel cells were the first to make use of a fully contained micro stasis field. As contraband left the Republic during their civil war these weapons quickly gained popularity within the Dominion. Shallan Fusion Gun - Taking note of the Republic's anti tank gun, the Shallans soon developed an anti-infantry weapon that used a much less focused beam, allowing for a much cheaper weapon. The Shallan man portable Plasma weapons rely upon the Fusion of a Hydrogen/Helium mix. They draw their power not from penetrative power like Republic weapons, but from the insanely high temperatures they can produce, and the wide area they can spew it over. An impressive weapon to use in starship boarding actions, these weapons can often melt entire corridors. Much easier to supply with fuel, they require only bottled mixtures of the gases. Plasma Blaster - A Faction built rifle/carbine sized weapon developed from bulky Neeran plasma pistols. While not as good as a republic plasma pistol its focused beam beam means their effective range is adequate for most situations. They were also cheap enough to see large scale use. Pinch Plasma rifle - An Aries plasma weapon using an alternative beam focusing system to create a much more narrow high speed jet of plasma. Their range and efficiency made them a strong competitor against the plasma blaster. Many felt they lacked the punch of the blaster. Because of this they were generally favoured by infantry rather than the space forces. Shallan Fusion Pistol - Initially a crude combination of a plasma blaster barrel with a fusion gun's fuel cell. Cheap and concealable they were intended for use by irregulars and rebels. Early models were produced illegally by Shallan exiles. Vehicular The Republic, as with other Factions have continued to experiment with other plasma based weapon systems for tanks and starfighters. So far none have reached mass production. The possibility of stubling upon limited production models, while remote, isn't impossible. Starship Republic Starship Grade Plasma Cannons Unlike other plasma weapons that normally use Helium or Deuterium expelled from a Fusion reactor, Republic plasma weapons use Iron in a plasma state. Should it cool to a molten state before reaching its target it becomes immune to magnetic fields, making deflection more difficult. * Republic Light (Cruiser Grade?) Plasma Cannon - Most famously found as spinal mount on Centurions, Transcendents, Light plasma cannons are also used by Shallan Battlecruisers. These are the most common plasma weapon fielded by the Republic. Heron class and some other mediums in spinal mounts, usually on hardpoints. Turreted versions of these weapons are seen in use on most Faction Super Heavies including those fielded by the Isolationists. Heavy and certain Medium cruisers can carry these turrets. * Republic Medium Plasma Cannon - Found as spinal mount on Republic Battleships and some Battlecruisers, including the odd custom ship The Great Devourer, which mounts one as its main gun. Newer Supers may occasionally mount them in turrets to ward off Battleships and threaten Heavy Cruisers. * Republic Heavy Plasma Cannon - Designed for use as an orbital defense plaform built around a single gun, the Heavy plasma cannon is intended to quickly kill the largest starships. Fuel storage, Power consumption and cooling systems all limited its early deployment options. Newer Versions are being mounted in turrets on Super Heavy Cruisers. Some Medium and Heavy cruisers can carry them as spinal mount weapons but their size and other requirements mean that few are up to the task. Helios siege cannon Mediums can replace its usual siege gun with a single heavy plasma cannon. Dominion Plasma Cannons Developed due to a desire for Republic weaponry without being reliant upon them, a multi-House R&D program managed to produce an equivilant weapon system after years of reverse engineering. For the moment all Dominion produced plasma cannons are inferior in range and power compared to Republic counterparts. They have made some progress with their new LD cannon model which has produced a weapon system smaller than the Republic Light Starship grade cannons. * Dominion LD Plasma Cannon - A true Dominion breakthrough, LD plasma cannons are mostly seen in single or double turrets, though a few are rarely seen in spinal mounts. Single gun turrets are being used to replace the Neeran Corvette-Ball turrets on captured Neeran Battleships with weapon that can be more easily maintained and replaced. They also make up a component of newer Dominion Battleship designs. * Dominion Light Plasma Cannon - Long in demand by larger Houses fielding heavy cruisers, this alternative to the Republic's light plasma cannon may be inferior, but still packs enough of a punch that they're still sought after. Shallan fleet groups unable to procure sutable replacements have begun to rely on Dominion weapon sales and donations. * Dominion Medium Plasma Cannon - While suffering the same performance reductions as other Dominion produced variants, Medium plasma cannons have seen comparitively little use among the Houses before this domestically produced variant. Most Houses buying them are doing so strictly for testing purposes. Those with previous experience are bying as many as possible. A pair of these weapons can be found as spinal mounts on Sonia Reynard's Medium Cruiser 'Outer Heaven.' *Helios Siege Cannon - While larger and more powerful than a republic Heavy Plasma cannon, one 1 of these weapons can be fitted to a super heavy turret. Alliance Plasma Cannons *Plasma Beam Cannon - A heavily upgraded version of the Dominion LD plasma cannon. These weapons have much greater range and power. *Plasma Lance - A weapon intended to eventually replace Heavy and Siege Cannons. Just as powerful as the Republic heavy plasma cannon but able to be mounted in turrets suitable for Heavy Cruisers. Fusion Cannons * Modified Drives - One of the smaller, weaker fusion cannons intended for use as weapons are seen on some transports, most notably the Kavarian Module transporter. Outboard engine systems that can quickly be flipped from use in maneuvering to firing more focused beams. *Single & Double Fusion Cannon - Turreted or otherwise, these are the most common fusion cannons fielded by military forces, being most popular among irregulars. While some are similar in size and appearance to newer LD Plasma weapons, others may be larger. Firepower can vary considerably based on construction and the quality of technology used. Many single barrel Fusion cannons are used as alternatives when Republic Light Plasma cannons are unavailable. * Phased plasma cannon - A hybrid of plasma and phase cannon, these weapons have become a favourite of the Neeran. They seem to have all or most of the positives of both weapon types, featuring improved shield penetration and overall damage. While they lack the overall raw power of Republic Light Plasma cannons, they're roughly on par with LD's while boasting superior range. * (Placeholder Neeran, Quatro canjnon?) - * Kavarian Heavy Fusion Cannon - Barred from purchasing republic weaponry, the Iratar government has been developing a Fusion plasma based alternative for use on Super Heavy Cruisers. These would fit the same weapon mounts as the Republic built weapons but could possibly be upgraded with phased plasma technology. * Siege cannon - Larger Fusion plasma based siege cannons are used by both the Helios class Medium and the Rovinar "Death Dragon" Heavy Cruiser. These weapons face competition from phase weapon based siege cannons, but remain slightly cheaper. * Siege Array - The largest mobile plasma weapons fielded by anyone, these are larger than Heavy cruisers. The earliest know models are the Kavarian siege formation which uses several super heavy cruisers and one medium cruiser all fitted with special containment systems. The formation fills a magnetic bottle with drive plasma then propelles to towards a stationary target. More famous than the Kavarian system is the Neeran Scorcher class Super Heavy. Starbase * Republic/Alliance BFPC (Big Frakin Plasma Cannon) - Gives Neeran Super Heavies and Command Ships nightmares. Serious cooling issues. Plasma Vanity Project When heated to a plasma state certain elements will produce different colours. The same may be true for Fusion Reactions. The Plasma Vanity Project is intended to catologue various colourations of these elements. Largely so they can be marketed in game, but also for curiosity's sake. If anyone locates a web page compiling such information please post the link below. http://www.plasma.de/en/glossary/glossary-entry-486.html http://www.personal.psu.edu/sdb229/Plasma%20ball%20colors.html http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml Depending on it's success this may be split off into it's own page but for now will remain part of H&D's plasma weapons page. 1 Hydrogen H 2 Helium He 3 Lithium Li 4 Beryllium Be 5 Boron B 6 Carbon C 7 Nitrogen N 8 Oxygen O 9 Fluorine F 10 Neon Ne 11 Sodium Na 12 Magnesium Mg 13 Aluminum Al 14 Silicon Si 15 Phosphorus P 16 Sulfur S 17 Chlorine Cl 18 Argon Ar 19 Potassium K 20 Calcium Ca 21 Scandium Sc 22 Titanium Ti 23 Vanadium V 24 Chromium Cr 25 Manganese Mn 26 Iron Fe 27 Cobalt Co 28 Nickel Ni 29 Copper Cu 30 Zinc Zn ''-I saw someone suggest that we use firework colourants. This isn't going to work since the temperatures that the Plasma operates at will break down any compounds into their raw elemental state. Perhaps adding carbon nanotubes might work - when certain Carbon allotropes are added to petrol and other hydrocarbon fuels they often completely change colour. Petrol changes to a very deep red colour for example.'' http://student.fizika.org/~nnctc/spectra.htm Link above has every element's emission spectrum. The easiest way to make plasma beams the colour we want would be to dope them with a small amount of the element. Or to spray it as a powder whenever the gun fires. Category:Weapons Category:Technology